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Hirsi Ali, Islam and the Anti-Free Speech Brigade

Apr 3, 2017

One of the most courageous women currently roaming the planet has had to cancel a speaking tour of Australia because of security threats. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was planning to speak at various events, as well as appear on the ABC’s Q&A program tonight, but the tolerance brigade in league with Muslim militants have hounded her out of town.

She was going to be speaking in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as in New Zealand, but with threats against her being ramped up, at the last minute she decided she would have to withdraw. As one recent news report on this states:

Ms Hirsi Ali was born to a Muslim family in Somalia, but has been a vocal critic of Islam after renouncing the religion. She has attracted critics for speaking out about reforming traditional Islam and confronting militant Islam.
She has been a controversial figure, earning, according to the event’s organisers, “widespread criticism among the liberal left and death threats from the religious right.”
The event was organised by Think Inc., a Sydney-based organisation that attempts to provoke debate and rational discourse through conversation.
About 2000 tickets had been sold to Ms Hirsi Ali’s speaking events in Australia. Buyers were being notified by email about the cancellations and will receive refunds.
Ms Hirsi Ali’s trip to Australia had sparked protests from a group of Muslim women who accused her of hate mongering and bigotry. Nearly 400 people signed an online petition against Ms Hirsi Ali’s speaking tour.
“Against a backdrop of increasing global Islamophobia, Hirsi-Ali’s divisive rhetoric simply serves to increase hostility and hatred towards Muslims,” the petition, posted on Change.org, said.
The Somali-born Dutch-American activist, author, and former politician, is an outspoken opponent of female genital mutilation. Last month Think Inc said it had been harassed about her appearance.
Its insurers were contacted and warned there could be trouble, and venues where she was scheduled to speak had been contacted and warned that there would be protests where she was due to appear.
Much of this was done by an individual called Syed Murtaza Hussain of the Council for the Prevention of Islamophobia Inc.
He informed Festival Hall in Melbourne there would be 5000 protesters outside the venue if the engagement went ahead. There have been other initiatives, including an abortive appeal on Change.org to prevent Ali from speaking.
Ms Hirsi Ali was elected to the lower house of the Dutch parliament. She moved to the US after receiving death threats for helping to make a short film that showed images of violence against women alongside verses from the Koran.

A week ago Andrew Bolt had written about this latest example of the fascist left seeking to shut down freedom of speech:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali speaks against totalitarian Islam. But rather than simply argue against her, her critics here respond in the way of today’s totalitarian Left- she must not come speak here. Other totalitarians are threatening her with death.
What in heaven’s name has happened here to free speech and debate?
She’s female, black and grew up Muslim. Now, a group of Muslim women in Australia are petitioning her upcoming speaking tour to the country. The group, which includes a number of high-profile writers, academics and activists, have expressed “disappointment” over Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s invitation to speak in Australia as part of a tour organised by event group Think Inc.
The petition starts: “We, the undersigned, would like to express our utmost disappointment that Ayaan Hirsi-Ali is being brought to Australia by Think Inc.”
And it accuses Hirsi Ali of creating the hatred that the writers themselves heap on her, and of causing the kind of danger that actually forces her to travel with people to save her from being murdered.

Yes quite so. Hirsi Ali, like her compatriot in arms, Dutch MP Geert Wilders, travels with 24/7 security protection. She is not trying to kill anyone, but plenty of people are trying to kill her. And now because of all their very real threats, she has been forced to cancel her speaking tour.

The totalitarian left would be whooping it up big time now: another blow to freedom of speech. Another jackboot on the face of freedom. Another act political thuggery. Thanks progressives – every day you reveal your true colours. You do not care about freedom one bit. You simply care about complete control, with all dissenting voices forever silenced.

The radical left is not in the least bit interested in debate and a free flow of ideas. They want to shut down all debate and squash any contrary points of view. Bullying, intimidation and thuggery are their preferred means of realising their goals.

In another piece Bolt offers ten recent examples of this leftist thuggery. He concludes with these words:

Those are 10 more signs that our freedom to speak is being stolen from us by morons. I say “morons” not just because the safe way to settle debates is to simply prove your opponents wrong — or learn you’re wrong instead.
They are morons also because they’re too dumb or desperate to even try to argue, preferring to settle debates with fists, threats, abuse, boycotts, race rules or the law. You, on the Left: do you really want to be part of this morons’ movement?

Yep, and there is nothing much worse than the totalitarian left getting into bed with totalitarian Islam. That case of seemingly strange bedfellows makes for the perfect storm. And freedom fighters like Hirsi Ali and all the rest of us are the big losers.

Oh, and where are all our political leaders who are strongly condemning this outrageous attack on free speech? Silly question I suppose.

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21 Responses to Hirsi Ali, Islam and the Anti-Free Speech Brigade

I’ve only just seen this post and am flabbergasted! Only five hours ago I posted on my own timeline my disgust that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is being ridiculed by leftist activists who blatantly ignore the warning bells of militant Islam, and refuse to recognize what is already happening in Europe. I would have thought that Ayaan’s timely warning would have been received with gratitude, but perhaps I was naive. These militant activists are really no better than IS itself – in fact, they are, in effect, putting out a welcoming mat to IS and the like. By stifling freedom of speech, they are already halfway there. And the supreme irony is that One Nation is the Party being villified for its extreme stance on Islam. WAKE UP AUSTRALIA!

Totally ashamed of the apathy displayed by ALL Australians who have sat back and let these pawns of islam stop one of the most courageous women on the face of the planet. God help us because I think it’s almost too late to help ourselves unless we Wake up AUSTRALIA

Only 400 people signing an online petition? In Britain we’d class that as peanuts, but it seems these small rent-a-mobs have amazing amounts of influence, for some peculiar reason.
There is something behind all this, globally, giving Islam such power over governments. Something is desperate to stop us speaking out against it. Same in Britain, we have a Prime Minister who dons a hijab every time she meets Muslims, our police are scared witless of uttering the M word or even arresting “Asians”, and people like Geert Wilders are vilified and banned from entering the country. It’s beyond belief and the restrictions are getting tighter by the day.

The Muslims are feeling so entitled these days that they take it for granted that everyone will agree with their victimhood claims.
Terribly sad that the conservatives in the Liberal Party (there must still be a small remnant) aren’t saying anything- no doubt for fear of not being pre-selected in the next election. Well here’s the news- the rate you’re going, you’ll still be out collecting your parachute pension even if you name is on the voting papers.
It’s getting ever-easier to see the difference between the sheep and the goats.

Awful! But I managed to pick up her book ‘Infidel’ for $1.00 at a second hand book sale on the weekend, so I will ‘listen’ to her as I read. Hopefully it will be a while yet before we resort to book burning.

So it only takes less than 400 people who have signed a petition to stop Ms Hirsi Ali’s speaking tour of Australia. As for the group of Muslim women who have accused Ms Hirsi Ali of spreading hatred and bigotry towards Muslims, they are condoning the brutal acts of ISIS because they don’t want the real truth of Islam exposed. We never hear these Muslim women and the radical left say a word against the horror killings and brutality carried out by ISIS. By their silence, they are condoning the behaviour of ISIS and it is another blow to free speech in this increasingly not-so-free country of Australia.

This action stifles free speech. This speaker is “an outspoken opponent of female genital mutilation”, does this mean we don’t disagree with this barbaric practice in Australia? Well, no, it’s actually against the law here, we should be championing a women who puts her life on the line to ban it in third world countries. The women campaigning for Ali not to come and speak here, did we ask if they are in favour of barbaric Muslim practices like female genital mutilation. I hope not! They have left third world countries to come to Australia, let’s not let radical elements return us to the dark ages!

We here in the US have a constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech, but I fear that the left, as totalitarian here as in Eurabia and australia, are not far behind their compatriots there. Mr Obama, the president for the last 8 years (and the most successful american traitor in our history), made a mockery of the law by ignoring it, so that it will be relatively easy for the left to silence criticism as soon as they regain power. They *had* planned to make ms. Clinton the last president freely elected, but unexpectedly lost the election (because they forgot that u.s. states still have the vestigial power of slightly influencing presidential elections); that just puts off the inevitable for four years (or less, if they can impeach mr. trump and remove mr. pence for something like hate speech because he loves his wife). If you plan to move here when your country becomes a dictatorship, don’t waste your money (You’ll need it to bribe corrupt government officials), because we’ll be there soon, too.

Thank you, Bill Muehlenberg, I have only just discovered your site. You are a knight in shining armour and there are not nearly enough of these in today’s Australia. That Ayaan Hirsi Ali would cancel her speaking visit to Australia says so much about how far we have fallen in just a few short years. What does Malcolm Turnbull have to say about this? Anything? Nothing? Australia is seriously under threat from within, but the troops to fight it seem thin on the ground. At the moment, my greatest concern is to see the list of names of those who signed the online Petition protesting Ayaan’s visit and right to speak. This must be made public because we cannot be expected to fight bigotry with our hands tied behind our backs.

A remark a family member made years ago was that, “God gave some folk too much bone in the head and not enough in their spine!” Well I don’t think it was God but I take the point. Those that ought to stand up are not prepared to; including the current Australian PM. I was looking forward to attending in Auckland and being further informed by this brave and intelligent woman. These days I am reminded of how God allowed the disobedient Israel to go it’s way and be overcome by her enemies. Is this happening in the West today as many no longer cherish nor value our Christian foundation and heritage?

Only 400 female Muslim petitioners implicitly in favour of illegal in Australia female genital mutilation raised their voice. Why have not the thousands of female and male Muslims, old and young, against illegal in Australia, female genital mutilation not raised their voice in censure against these disobedient Australian women?

I wonder if our police force should’ve been called to protect this woman at her originally planned venues? Geert Wilders met the same opposition a few years ago when he had to cancel many venues.
Why should these forces in Australia be allowed to stop free speech?
Bill, can you inform me about which Federal and State ministers can be contacted to register a strong protest?

HI Bill
A bit of big-noting from the organizer of the anti- Ayaan petition to tell Festival Hall he will have 5000 protestors out the front of Ayaan’s meeting when he could only garner 400 signatures on a petition. Please explain.
Currently reading Geert Wilder’s book “Marked for Death” and his description of being under 24/7 police protection: being moved from safe house to safe house every few days, even spending time in prisons because that was the most safe place for him, with all the attendant shortcomings of such a lifestyle. How is it that those who are innocent are the ones being locked up, while those threatening death and mayhem are allowed to roam freely?
Insanity!
Vic Trudeau

Ayaan is a gutsy brave woman and I will defend her right to say whatever she likes but her arguments are never going to hold any water. How do you reform a religion that is based on a false prophet aka Muhummad ? and that believes that the Koran is the literal word for word message from Allah to mankind. ( As Robert Reilly points out Allah spoke Arabic. !) The only way to truly reform Islam is to reveal what a satanic sham it is and let Jesus shine forth from the Bible as the true God.

Anyone accusing Ayaan Hirsi Ali of “hate-mongering” has not read her autobiographical books: While she no longer submits to the tenets of Islam, she demonstrates a deep and abiding love of and sadness for her relatives who still adhere to the religion of their birth in varying degrees.

Is it hatred to seek to love and support women and girls at risk in cultural ghettos where their menfolk’s collective and individual honour is more important than women’s personal dignity and safety? Hirsi Ali’s The Caged Virgin is an impassioned plea for the liberation of the mothers, daughters and sisters of Islam’s Ummah.

What a disgrace!! Is this now what Australia has come too? I grew up in a Country where we were free!! Something that our forefathers fought for. Now we have to bow to this minority group who must think we are a bunch of idiots. For goodness sake, don’t listen to them. I don’t care what they have to say. 400 people!! What a joke. Our leaders are weak. Surely when Turnbull heard of what was going on he should have acted because it would have been in the country’s best interest. Bring out the police to festival hall and if these totalitarians want to disrupt things then let the police deal with it. I cannot believe that this brave lady could not come to Australia to freely speak. Where to from here?

This sort of thing is happening far too often these days. Either speakers have to cancel their tours themselves because of security fears or they are not allowed to come.

However, it is as Rob says, a religion that bases itself on what a false prophet says has little chance of reform.

Please could you inform me Bill where in the Bible does it say that Satan can appear as an angel of light? I know it is there but can’t remember where. Since the Muslim prophet claims to have had visits from the Angel Gabriel I think this is very relevant

As I have said before on this site Mark Steyn had it so right. The left is so hell-bent on defending what is in this country (Australia) a minority religion they don’t even realise that, if the adherents of said religion were to gain power all their favourite causes (LGBT rights, feminism, etc) would all be stomped on in no uncertain terms. Mick Koster.

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